Gin-Gin Mule, recipe

I’m a little ashamed of this. The Libationgoddess’s original calls for homemade ginger beer, but I looked around the kitchen one hot weekend afternoon, wanting something cooling and refreshing that we could drink in the backyard.

I thought, “I have mint, I have limes, I have Reed’s (bottled) ginger beer, and I have gin. What the hell, I’ll do a bastardized Gin-Gin Mule.” So I checked the latest Difford’s Guide and found a recipe, which I’ll adapt here, after the break.

Gin-Gin Mule

2 slices fresh ginger root

½ tsp. sugar (I used turbinado)

2 oz gin

½ oz. lime juice

3 dashes Angostura

Lime wedge, for garnish

Mint sprig, for garnish

Technique: Muddle ginger and sugar in mixing glass. Add whatever amount of ice you’re happy with. Pour remaining ingredients over ice/ginger. Cap with the metal part of the shaker, do the bump and grind. Strain into an Old Fashioned glass. (I double-strained, using a Hawthorne strainer and a fine sieve, because of all of the ginger bits.) Garnish with lime wedge and a mint sprig, all the while hating yourself because you don’t have the yummy candied ginger they use at Pegu Club.

Heresy: I found that muddling fresh ginger at least approximates the flavor of homemade ginger beer, when used in conjunction with a quality product like Reed’s. (Some wimpass ginger ale like Seagram’s? Don’t bother.)

Don’t get me wrong. Homemade is better because the flavors are heartier and fresher. And because I love homemade ginger beer, I’m jonesing to make some. But I might submit that Reed’s plus muddled ginger can get you a tasty gin-gin mule. Just don’t tell anyone at Pegu that I said so. I’d like to drink there again.